Explore a farm on a quad bike, cook your own beef and tour a coffee and fruit farm in Tropical North Queensland where event planners can showcase Australian icons in unexpected ways.
Explore a farm on a quad bike, cook your own beef and tour a coffee and fruit farm in Tropical North Queensland where event planners can showcase Australian icons in unexpected ways.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Partnerships and Events General Manager Tara Bennett said memorable event programs that go beyond the Great Barrier Reef and rainforest itineraries can be created around the region’s food, culture and adventure.
“Surprise and delight moments can be designed especially for delegates to discover the Australian way of life in ways they never imagined,” she said.
“Delegates can get a feel for life on a cattle station by feeding the cows, riding horses or driving a quad bike Kur-Cow Barnwell Farm before cooking tender cuts of wagyu beef on a charcoal Hibachi barbecue as the sun sets over the hills.
“With 80 per cent of the region’s food sourced from within a three-hour radius, it is easy to explore the flavours of the tropics whether it’s joining a chef for a tour of the inner-city farmers’ markets or fishing for local barramundi.
“Meet the MacLaughlin family who own Australia’s oldest coffee plantation and grow red papaya at Skybury Farms on a tour in a Troopie which is used for farm transport.
“Visit the nursery to see the technology behind tissue culture, see the packing shed where 200 pallets of papaya are packed a week and walk through the coffee and papaya plantations.
“Discover nature’s supermarket and pharmacy at Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre where Indigenous guides welcome delegates with a smoking ceremony before walking through the ancient Daintree National Park showing how the rainforest can be used to heal and for food.
“Wash your hands with the lather from the soap tree, see where ochre body paint comes from, and enjoy traditional damper and bush tea.
Join the Pamagirri dancers at Rainforestation Nature Park to learn how to shake a leg in a corroboree, throw a spear and get a boomerang to come back, and then explore the waterway in an amphibious Army Duck.
“Wildlife parks offer the opportunity to get up close to iconic Australian animals including koalas, kangaroos, pythons and wombats.
“Feed an endangered cassowary or a saltwater crocodile at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures or test your nerve with the Swim with the Salties experience at Wildlife Habitat.”
Explore the Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef website for more ideas.
TTNQ Contact: Liz Inglis | [email protected] | 0419 643 494